星火30篇文章贯通考研词汇(修改)

Unit 1 The Permit (1)

许可证

因生活困苦，我不得不离开家乡去外国打工。我把大部分钱都寄给了妻子和父母。然而不久，政府要求我们必须有工作许可证才能继续打工。后来，我们就遭遇到种种无理待遇……

I think the building must have been used as a farmer's winter store, for I found piles of forgotten dried chestnuts and grain in rotting barrels. I tried the chestnuts but they tasted sour, Paulo said he would bring me food, but that was three days ago.

Yesterday, I heard a car engine getting closer, and climbed up to hide in the beams of the patched roof. But the men just looked in quickly through the worn-out windows and broken doors before they left. I clung to the dusty wooden beam, feeling it would bend under my weight, and tried to make no noise. My arms and legs grew numb, then began to tremble. I longed to move, but I waited until I heard the policemen drive off.

I know that they will return. When we began the final part of our journey, we were warned that the police patrolled the land around here regularly. They are always searching for us, or others like us; the coast of Morocco (摩洛哥) and the Presidio (要塞) of Ceuta (休达，摩洛哥北部港市) are only ten miles away across the Straits.

That is how I got here: squeezed in with fifteen other men in a shallow boat meant for eight, with the cold waves reaching over the sides and the night deep and black as a tomb. I have never been more scared. I prayed all the way across, and thought about my family. I told myself, over and over, that I was doing it for them. That trip took almost all of my money. All of the money I had saved in Ecuador (厄瓜多尔). The boatmen left us on a beach in the middle of the night. We lost sight of them but we could still hear their small engine across the waves. Six of us started walking inland but the others waited for the contacts, the friends of the boatmen, as they had been told.

We were lucky: we met Paulo. We found the town and waited until the first bar opened; I went in alone while the others hid in the orchard nearby. When I asked for a cup of coffee, the young barman (侍者) looked at me and nodded. He made the coffee, then disappeared into the back room. Cold and without strength, I wrapped my hands around the warm cup, not caring whether the barman had called the police, not caring about the next moment, just about the present.

But the man had called Paulo, who came and helped us. Paulo was always smiling, always happy. He was from Seville (塞维利亚) , a busy city of many people, and he knew many people. Paulo found work for us. I made good money on the farms. I picked cabbages, beans, cucumbers and peas. I picked great round yellow squashes (南瓜)that smelled of rich perfume when you broke them. The farmers hired us by the day, and were content. The local people would never work for the wages we are paid. But there were many farms, and many crops to be picked. We were welcomed.

I shared a small clean house in the town with seven other workers. We had journeyed from Ecuador, Colombia (哥伦比亚) , Venezuela (委内瑞拉), even Argentina (阿根廷). Paulo found the house for us - he knew the landlord and arranged a good price. We lived well, with enough food and sometimes wine.

I earned more in a week than I could in three months back home if there had been work to do there.

I sent most of the money that was left to my wife and parents, and wrote many letters to them. Then the government changed the rules so that we needed work permits.

I queued with hundreds of other workers, waiting for the application forms. We sat on the stone benches beneath the trees and read the forms. Some of the other workers are from small villages and towns, and cannot read as well as I can, so I explained to them that the government wanted our birth certificates, driving licenses, passports and many other documents. Many of the workers had perhaps one or two of these documents, but most had none. I helped the others complete the forms and we gave them to the clerk. He looked at our documents, stamped the forms many times and told us that they would be sent to Madrid (马德里), and our permits would be returned in two or three months if the forms were approved.

We had to wait. Even Paulo and his friends could not help us.

The first month was not too bad as most of the farmers continued to use us; their crops were rich, waiting to be picked. Then some men from Madrid visited all of the farms, and maybe half of the farmers stopped using us. The farmers told us that they were sorry, and we understood them.

So the second month was worse: only a few of the farmers would use us, and those that did pay very poor wages. We shared what we had, and ate once a day: rice, porridge(粥), bread, cheap food that would fill our stomachs. We began to stare at each other, and wonder which of us would find work. There were fights in the morning, between different groups of workers, when the farms' supervisors (管理人，监工)came to choose who would work that day. But still we had some hope.

We lost the house in the third month, as we had no money for rent. We were able to get some food from the charity kitchens around the town, and the church, but we found always a long queue and very little food. We took our bags and blankets and slept in the fields. Then the weather became cold and we slept where we could, huddled together, in old forgotten buildings and alleys (小巷). Sometimes I dreamed of my family, and when I awoke, I wished the dream could continue.

The people of the town stared at us from the sides of their eyes as they passed us. They clenched(握紧) their hands and muttered, and some of them spat on the pavement. A few of us were attacked and beaten in the dark, and driven from the parks and streets. All of the time, the Police told us to move on, move on.

It is the end of the third month when it happens.

The farmers hired coaches and send them into the town. From four o'clock in the morning we waited in agitating silence, hands pushed deep into pockets, our hats pulled down tight against the cold and the watching policemen.

By the time the coaches arrived, there are hundreds of workers waiting in the darkness. We pressed forward as the doors opened. The supervisors stood on the bottom steps of the coaches and asked, "Who has the permit?"

The men with permits hold them up and were allowed onto the coaches.

Some of the workers were from the countries in Europe and did not need permits, so they were allowed on when they showed their passports. I went from coach to coach until I saw a group of Chileans (智利人), who I knew have no permits, climbing aboard a waiting coach. The leader of their group spoke first with the foreman and shook his hand, then they were taken on. I stood before the supervisor.

―You have the permit?‖ he asked me. He was broad, stout (肥胖的)and filled the doorway of the coach. His fat neck spilt from the upturned (向上翻的) collar of his leather jacket. His hair was shaven close to his head. I explain to him that my application was rejected but I would try again.

―Come back when you have a permit,‖ he told me. He frowned as he inhaled (吸入，吸气) a smoke and looked down the avenue to where the policemen were watching the coaches. I explained to him that I was a hard worker, that I had eaten only once in three days, that I was eager to work and send money to my family.

He looked at the policemen, who had started walking along the pavement beside the coaches, and glared at me and says, ―Go to Madrid and tell them.‖

The Chileans were laughing and pointing at me through the coach windows.

The supervisor tossed his half-finished cigarette into the gutter(排水沟) by my foot. At the moment I stabbed him in the stomach. He bent down with a small cry.

The policemen looked at us and I began to run away from the coaches, into the dark side streets.

I heard loud running steps close behind me, and the roar of car engines.

I slid into the shadows of a shop's back door, behind two tall metal containers that stank (发出臭味)of rotting meat and spoiled foodstuff (食品). I gasped, and each breath burnt. My heart hammered against my chest.

I waited for a long time until the sounds of the cars and people faded. I walked slowly to the end of the alley and looked out, but the streets were empty.

I had run almost to the river; I could hear it rushing in the darkness beneath me.

My right hand felt cold. I looked down in the yellow light of a street lamp, and saw my hand still clenched into a fist. It looked like the hand of another person, not part of me. A short blade, no longer than my thumb, stuck out from the fist. The blade, my fist, and my sleeve were all stained dark red.

Paulo gave me the knife when I picked artichokes on the farms. The short thick blade is very sharp, made for cutting the plants' stalks.

I scrambled down to the banks of the river and threw the knife into the river water. I heard it splashed far away. The river touched my feet. I bowed down and washed my sleeve and hand, although the water was so cold, like ice, that my hand became numb. Then I walked back up to the street.

I found some of the other workers hiding in the deserted warehouse we had found. One of them went to find Paulo, who came and told me about the old farm buildings near to the coast road. I waited until darkness before I followed the road out of the town, throwing myself into the ditch if I heard a car approaching.

The weather has been clear and I have seen the coast of Morocco every day. Across the blue sea, the land is a strip of dark brown and gray, and looks close enough for me to touch. Maybe I could find an old tractor tyre tube around the farm and float across the Straits? Or maybe I could walk along the shore and steal a boat?

I do not want to become a thief. I am an honest man who wants only to work and support his family. But what can I do?

I will wait here for Paulo and listen to him. He will tell me what to do for the best. I know that he will help me.

译文:

Unit 2 Timeless Photographs (19)

价值永存的老照片

生活中有很多小事经常为人们忽略，但有时其中蕴含的亲情却会令人回味许久。父亲留下的老照片告诉我，人们并没有什么不同，所有人都想充分享受人生乐趣，体味家的温馨。全家团聚的时刻是珍贵的……

I love to look at old photographs in the album. My father had a big box of pictures in the cabinet and some of the pictures go way back to the 1890's. The women dressed with such dignity and had style back then. My Dad would linger around his precious box of photographs and tell me stories about each photo and very one. It was one of those moments that you could not really appreciate when you were young. It is only after he was long gone that I can look back and say thanks for taking the time to show me a tiny window into the world of people who really did know how to live.

I found a few of my aunts in their fashionable outfits by an old Cadillac(卡迪拉克，汽车名) pretending to drink whisky. Many of the photographs were taken in Coney Island(科尼岛) and Cape Cod(科德角). I especially love the photographs of the bathing beauties and their swimsuits. The suits are quite modest by today's standards but the young women didn't seem to care. They were staying at such places as Newport Beach and Cape Cod having the time of their lives running in and out of the tide. One photograph had a vendor(小贩)selling dogs(热狗)by a coaster(轮船)at Coney Island—a younger picture of my mother with here brown hair and blue eyes eager to go on board with my Dad. He looked a bit frightened in the picture as I could see he was holding on tightly to the bar to the coaster, his black hair flying in the breeze. I smile when I look at that picture because it is hard to imagine anyone's Dad ever being a kid. He looked like he was having a great time probably because he was with my mother. She is smiling in the picture and wearing a white blouse, blue shorts and tennis shoes. She is quite a looker(美女),I can see why my Dad liked her so much.

I dig down to the bottom of the box and see two large photographs. One is dated 1900 and the other

one is dated 1997—a recent picture that looks similar to the older one. The older picture looks familiar because it is taken in the same place—the summer home.

I will describe the older photograph as very interesting in the style of dress and exactly(确切地，精确地) where the people are sitting. They are posed outside the cottage by a small tree that is still there today. A woman is sitting in a rocking chair, with here black hair pulled up in a bun(脑后的发髻).She is not smiling but looking away from the camera and wearing a long black dress. Another woman is wearing a white blouse with a necktie(领结)and a long black skirt. Her hair is also long and blonder(金黄色的)but pulled back in a bun. There are two men on either side of a wooden table. Both men appear older and are dressed in hats and suits and ties, trousers and Sunday shoes. Neither is smiling. (I have the distinct feeling that the women are their wives and it is Sunday.) They probably are hungry for their roast beef and potatoes, but that is just my guess. There is a young boy, probably about 13 in the photograph. He is wearing a white blouse, black shorts, long black socks and tan sports shoes. He is petting a black dog that is sitting on top of the round wooden table. The boy is bending down and he isn't smiling either. It must have been hot outside and he probably wants to go for a swim with the dog. The water is just below them and he is probably wondering why he has to take this stupid picture all dressed up on a Sunday.

I notice that the color of my cabin was quite different in 1900 and it was much smaller. The color was green, with white railings(栏杆)around the porch and steps leading down to the patio(院子). That is where the picture of this Smart Family was taken. The family appears rather stiff in the photo but I am sure that they had a good laugh after the Sunday dinner was served.

The second larger photograph is of my own family about 1997. It is also in black and white. We didn't wear any older clothes but used our own clothes. The tree in the background has grown to enormous heights and is still standing. The steps leading down to Mousam Lake have cracked and are in awful need of repair. Believe it or not, we still own the old wooden table and all of the rocking chairs owned by the Smart Family. I did a search of the Smart Family and they were originally from Portsmouth(朴茨茅斯). At least five other families owned my cottage before my father bought it in 1950 for three thousand dollars. The cottage comes with thirteen acres of land that I still own along with my seven brothers and sisters. It was passed on to me when my mother died. We have formed the Camp Fund to pay the taxes and preserve our legacy. It is a beautiful cabin on a prime spot on Mousam Lake. I was not here when this photo was taken and it hangs in the living room of the cabin. Many visitors comment on it and think it is quite amazing to have a house for so long.

The history of the house is interesting to view from photographs. Around the table are my brother Bob just wearing a casual shirt and shorts(smiling), Annie wearing a T-Shirt and shorts. Mike wearing a white shirt and long nylon trousers not smiling, Mary, whom I couldn't tell what she was wearing, my Mom, her white hair and her beautiful blue eyes and smile, was wearing a peach blouse and slacks, my Dad wasn't alive for this photo, he died in 1986. Lastly in the picture is my brother John, wearing a white vest, trousers and suspenders. He slicked(使光滑、顺滑)back his black hair for the photo to appear in the period style. He wasn't smiling either. The only difference is that my cottage is painted brown with a larger porch and some additional buildings. My father loved to build things and he was constantly improving the cabin. He built a deck downstairs, and also a dock for his many boats. He also designed a gliding swing and a picnic table.

All of these photographs remind me that people are not so very different. We all want to enjoy living and be together as a family. The time that families spend together is very valuable. The children will always remember the little things that their parents do for them. For me it was my Dad that showed me these pictures and took the time to tell me the stories behind each of them. I thank him dearly for that. 译文:

Unit 3 The Story of My Romance (33)

我的恋爱故事

生活就像车轮一样旋转，从早晨开始，晚上很晚才结束，第二天早上又重新开始。没有停顿，没有休息，没有丝毫改变。生活在其中的你，是否会感到疲惫和乏味？或者，寻找一些浪漫或刺激?

Tanya got out of the bed while the sun was still asleep. ―Would I be able to watch sunrise today?‖She asked her heart. She knew the answer but was afraid to tell herself. Mike, her husband, was still in bed and so were her four kids. Even their sleep couldn’t prevent her from doing them service. She arranged her work to the microscopic(缩小的)details. From pressing clothes to polishing shoes, finding sports socks to putting school bags in order, fixing up breakfast to preparing snack-boxes, she wanted to make it all happen like magic, She did it all, like a magician(魔术师).

Life ran like a wheel. The circle started every morning and ended up late in the night, and then morning appeared again. There was no pause, no rest, not even a slight change to insert the circle. She condemned herself for not experiencing even a thought of ever getting out of this circle, but she just committed herself to the orbit of life.

Coming out of the bathroom, she turned and looked at her wrinkled face in the mirror and gasped a tired answer to her long asked question, ―never, you just keep driving in the sunset.‖She shook her head to wing away those vicious butterflies in her mind. She knew she couldn’t join them so she didn’t want them to hang around her either.

She entered the kitchen and heard Mike yelling in his uneasy voice for the absence of his towel in the bathroom. Her youngest daughter Karen started crying that she didn’t want to go to school that day. Nicole, the eldest(最年长的),couldn’t help herself but to blame Daniel for the overnight fragmentation(破坏)of her dollhouse(玩具屋)while Randal registered his protest from his bed that he was not going lo drink milk in breakfast like every day. In the kitchen, sugar had run out. So she was still looking for that magic wand(杖).

She never got to know when morning ran into noon: even the clock failed to tell her that. Mike left for office still screaming and shouting for his towel and the school bus only arrived after the kids had s wallowed their breakfast. Their absence couldn’t cease her work for there was too much work to do. She was planning to send dirty clothes to laundry when the doorbell rang. It had been so long nobody coming to their home that she had forgotten what their doorbell sounded like. She tried to guess who could it be but not a single name appeared in her mind. She opened the door with an uncertain(不确定的)hope but only found the postman standing in the door to vanish that uncertainty(不确定).

―Hi David! Since when did you start ringing the doorbell? ‖Words flew out of her mouth without her own consent.

―Ever since I was a kid. In my childhood 1 would ring the bell and run away. ‖David was a cheerful(快乐的)postman.

―But you don’t need to run away now.‖

―No。not until you have signed and received your letter. ‖

―My letter! Who could send that?‖

―I am not sure. It’s someone named L.H.M. Sounds like a postgraduate degree to me. ‖

―Never mind, I’11 sign it.‖

Tanya received the letter. It was a registered letter from within the town. She wondered who could that L.H.M. be. She opened the envelope and the mystery that was enclosed in it. The handwriting sparked a memory but she felt too overwhelmed to scrape her past. Her heartbeat(G"跳)started flying like butterfly wings.

It wasn’t just a letter with ordinary words written on a piece of paper. She could feel those words blazing over her heart. They were telling her stories of her long lost love.

My flowered wish Tanya!

I once saw my home in the streets of your palm, my destiny in the smiles of your promises, and my shelter in the shadows of your eyes. I treasured all your whispers under my pillow, your fragrance in my breaths, and your name in my ears. Your face still lightens(使发亮)up the sky in the

night, your voice still rhymes them rain fall, and your hair still soften the wind.

The sun always rose from the sparkle of your eyes.

And then, time flew you away into someone else's world. That sun vanished and ever since I haven't seen a sunrise.

Life is spending me and I am aging. Days keep climbing the mountain of years. Moon disguises its face in the clouds and the night refuses to bring sleep onto my pillow. I fight your memories and defeat myself. The pain-waves of your absence storm through my stale heart and leave it in a misery.

My face has lived with me for ten cold winters, now l want to feel the warmth of your face. Bring the sunshine of your eyes to me. Meet me while the sun sets this Sunday at the river bridge. My eyes will be measuring the passage until you come.

Larry

The letter ended and left her standing at the door of her time-faded memories. Larry was her classmate in college days. He lived in her heart and she dreamed his eyes. They had planned to get married after graduation as soon as Larry found a good job. It took him a year to find one and this expansion of time let Mike surface. Mike was an elegant and handsome man with already a good job. Larry got a first-rate job the day T anya got married.

In the next six months, Larry left the country and Tanya moved to Wisconsin(威斯康星州). Mike’s love scattered into his job, kids and T anya. She did the same to him, except for the job. Her concern was to take care of the kids and the home. ―Easier said than done‖, she liked this phrase ever since. Her housework imprisoned(关押)her wishe s and she couldn’t even wish for her freedom.

And today, after more than ten years, a letter came into her life like a butterfly carrying on its wings, words written in rainbow colors. It was Wednesday and she wished to jump over those three days into the Sunday sunset.

She never got to know when the kids came back from the school and how she spent the rest of the day. The days had started flying with her. In the night she would read that letter to the moon, the stars and the breeze. She would tell them stories of her low; the first time she met Larry, her first words and her first kiss. Every inch of her memory had a bond to a whole new memory. Now she remembered everything; every ray the sun ever endowed on her love. She could feel a powerful freedom that was removing those tedious thoughts from her mind and thrusting life into her veins. Life was wearing hope now.

The time from Sunday morning to evening was hard to spend. Time clock was snailing Out of the day and the sun got hung up in mid air. Wind stopped on the surface of water and the shadows declined to shrink. She wished time was a horse with a tail on the forehead and she would pull it from its tail. She wished time was a dry leaf and she would blow it in the windstorm(风暴)of her heart. She wished time was a boat and she would sail it in the river of her eyes. But today, time had turn into a teaser(戏弄者).She wanted the time to fly and it was crawling. She tried to make her self busy in house chores but her eyes quit supporting her hands as they were still looking at the sun. And the sun also kept glaring at her all the day. Finally the sun lost the battle and started going down. From the rim of the roof, it skidded to the window.

No one in the family felt any change in her. Mike had to go to meet a client and was quite busy looking at himself and the kids were too involved in watching the TV. It was an hour to sunset and she was ready, wearing her best dress and wrapped in her favorite fragrance. She looked several years younger and brought back a charming(迷人的)smile onto her lips.

―Where are you going, dear?‖ Her preparation couldn't wage enough resistance against Mike’s curiosity.

―Aa, well, actually I thought L would go for some shopping(买东西)‖,she hardly uttered.

―Mom! I would go with you.‖ Nicole y elled as the idea of going out had removed her attention from the TV. The rest were so absorbed that they didn’t even hear the conversation.

―Yeah dear, why don’t you take Nicole with you, she could be helpful.‖

Tanya didn’t feel comfortable having a company at that time but she didn’t want to change Mike’s curiosity into suspicion so she said OK.

All the way to the City Center, Nicole kept telling her of all the stuff her friends had and what she wanted to buy in response. T anya wasn’t listening. She was j ust nodding her head in approval of whatever Nicole said. She couldn’t possibly have said a word. Her heart was rumbling(发出隆隆声)like a volcano, hitting the rib cage(胸腔)trying to get out to take a look at its long lost love.

The sun was hurrying down now. She was afraid of getting late so she speeded up a little.

―Mom! Aren’t we supposed to go to the City Center?‖ Nicole asked seeing her turning to a different street.

―Yes dear but I have to take care of something important before we go shopping, all right?‖ She said.

―All right.‖ It was OK for Nicole as long as it didn’t alter their shopping plan.

The bridge was getting closer and so was logic. Sanity(理智)had started penetrating her enthusiasm. The question of ―how should I do it?‖ turned into ―why should I do it?‖ The eclipse of her memories had started declining. She could see the bridge now. She stopped the car a hundred yards away from the bridge.

―Honey! You stay in the car, I’11 be back in a few minutes.‖ She said to Nicole without a slight touch of emotions. She didn’t wait for her answer, stepped out of the car in a mechanical way and started walking towards the bridge.

Larry was standing on the corner of the bridge, with his back to her. He was looking down the bridge into the running water. She walked for a few yards and then stopped. Larry turned his face towards her. Age seemed to have worn him out. He looked tired as if he had traveled a huge span of years. His presence sent no waves of fresh air to clean her heart from the mist of dissatisfaction. He disappointed her again. She hoped to find a ray of hope and he damped down her hope. She looked back towards the car and her daughter. ―I have lo st too much。I don’t want to lose my ten years.‖ She decided and turned back. Larry ran after her but she had reached her car. Larry called her with a passionate cry, ―T anya!‖ She opened the door and sat in. Larry stopped abruptly with shock in his eyes. T anya turned the ear back.

―You are my wish, T anya!‖ Larry murmured. She stepped on the car. Larry saw her going into the sunset.

―Who was he, mommy?‖Nicole couldn’t catch any idea out of it.

―He was a nobody, my dear.‖

Tanya kept driving into the sunset.

译文:

Unit 4 Bi g Tom (55)

大个子汤姆

我至今怀念与同事大个子汤姆一起的时光，他身体强壮却从不盛气凌人，有时候冒出的奇特想法让人莫名其妙却又无法拒绝。然而，一次随意的决定使他遭受了生命危险……

Of all the males in our company’s dormitory, I felt the most affection for Tom. He was a genius, I thought, but the other guys took him for a nut. He came from far away, and at first had a strong Spanish accent. Now, after a year with the company, he spoke English very well. But his English accent had an exaggerated precision that the other guys didn’t like. In the crude environment of the dormitory, Tom’s accent seemed artificial. But he was a big man, a giant, and strong as an ox, and the others feared him and left him alone.

I on the other hand had a weak constitution. I couldn’t digest any real food and lived on little more than coffee. My arms and legs were as thin as stems. And what work did I do there, you may well ask.

I was chief garbage man for the dormitory.

Our company had a big project to build a reinforced concrete reservoir out in a suburb surrounded by hills. At night a portion of the project was closed to us by means of a big square gate made of brass. One cold evening I was depositing the garbage from supper behind our dormitory when I saw a torch and the shape of a man passing through the grass gate. I walked over.

―I knew it was you,‖ I said to Tom.

―It’s open,‖ he said. ―Shall we go in?‖

―Don’t you know we shouldn’t?‖ I said. ―You still haven’t adjusted to the company.‖

―Adjust?‖ he said. ―I’d rather quit. Come. What are you afraid of? Don’t you want to investigate this portion?‖ He knew I did. Already it seemed inevitable that I would to with him. I only feared that the torch would be noticeable on the TV monitor of the chief watchman.

―Turn off the torch,‖ I said, and we walked through the brass square gate. Tom and I penetrated al l the way to the crane, and no watchman had yet pursued us. This giant crane was used for moving and placing the reinforced concrete blocks. In the dark we recognized it by its shape—an immense pillar of zigzag rods. At the top of it, we knew, at the peak, would be the flag. And far over our heads, up in the dark sky, would be the crane’s giant arm. On the arm was the banner that we saw everyday, with the letters ABC, the initial letters of our company’s name. We had ABC written on our shirts, too, and on the chairs and beds with which our dormitory was furnished.

―Let’s go up!‖ said Tom. I laughed—but Tome had spoken in earnest. Strong as he was, he really had no concept of authority.

―Tom, you are a nut!‖ I said, wanting to show him that I was reluctant. But in the end he convinced me, and we mounted the ladder to the lift. There were two buttons, a red one and a green one. I pressed the latter, just to see if the lift might be operational. It was. I pressed the red button and stopped it. Tome got in. I pressed the green one again and we rose and rose and finally reached the top. We were at the peak of the pillar, just underneath the flag. Even in the dark we were close enough to see it. Before us the crane’s giant arm led of like a road into the night. Its rods and all zigzag, made me feel that over there would be, I saw, a square gate, some garbage and a dormitory. But no. Off the end of that zigzag road really would be nothing but dark night. The geometry of the crane scared me.

―Let’s walk out to the banner!‖

To the banner? Oh, no. This was too much.

―I want to see the ABC!‖ said Tome. ―Come on!‖ why was his voice so urgent? What did the want that ABC banner for?

―Tom, you are too bold,‖ I said. ―You really have no concept…..‖ But he had set off. I was ver y scared, but somehow rose to the challenge and went with him. It became a contest: who would be the first one to touch the long banner? I was halfway along the arm when I heard the water of the reservoir, far underneath us. It was then that I remembered that the chief crane operator, before stopping his work for the day, would always swing the giant arm so that it projected out over the water. Now I was really scared. I held on to a rod. I could feel the coffee I had drunk could and undigested inside me. I did not have Tom’s ox-like constitution.

―Tom!‖ I said. I did not possess hi boldness, and not his urgency.

―You can’t quit now!‖ Said Tom. But I could not move. I was trapped.

Tom had reached the banner. He was a dark shape, loosening the knots that held the banner to the rods.

―I possess the ABC!‖ he said, in that precise English of his. The dark shape on the arm put a thumb up to show me that he had got what he wanted. He put his other hand on what he thought was a rod, but it was the wire that would shock him.

They said later that the nuts on the box that surrounded the wire were loose and had come unscrewed(螺丝钉旋松的). The box had fallen away, and the wire was exposed.

Tome never panicked. He looked at me as if I were far away. But his legs would not hold him up. Wrapped in the banner, he fell, like a baby bird from a nest. It was I who panicked, when I heard him hit and vanish underneath the water of the reservoir. Maybe his fall had not been fatal, but would my beloved Tom now drown? It was possible.

I began to cal for help.

We spent an anxious fortnight in the dormitory. While the others would talk about his vitality(生命力), I stared at jeans and socks of the vanishing nut. The dorm was a different place without his precise English. An X-ray scan had revealed that he would need an operation. And of course the big ox had to recover from the exposure to the cold water. There was a mention in the media of Tom’s shock and fall, and the TV guys were going to come and see what we were doing at the reservoir project, until their investigation was canceled. But the authorities did investigate our company. Their investigation revealed that the square gate had been left open, and the box surrounding the wire had come off.

The company reinforced the square gate with more brass, and put a new box back onto the arm, screwing its nuts tightly. They tightened up the knots of the new banner, and even put anew banner all down the crane’s pillar, this latter one having not only the initials ABC but all the letters of the name of the suburb. And they put a bigger flag on the crane.

The company enhanced the authority of the chief watchman. Now we had to sign in when were came back to the dormitory, and sign out. Even when I took out the garbage in the evening, I had to sign in and out! Besides, they furnish their chief garbage man with a torch in case I should see any shapes of people.

译文:

Unit 5 Jason and Jeff (71)

父子情深

生命是最令人留恋的，同样，热爱生命的人是最值得纪念的。杰夫和詹森父子俩的感情令人感动，而詹森的生命活力也令人赞叹……

The colorful falling leaves rustle(发出沙沙声)through the trees on this brisk October morning in 1990.Jason and his sister Joanna get into the car and drive to school. Jason is driving this morning. He has just received his permit and is very anxious to start driving on his own. His sister Joanna is one year older than him and is showing him the specific points of driving, as if in a workshop. Today, she decides that he should drive to school. He takes the wheel and proceed slowly down the back roads to Hill High School. These are backcountry(边远地区)roads and the twists cause Jason to drive slowly and cautiously(慎重地).He takes each turn with a bit of bravado(虚张声势)and his sister teases him that he is becoming a ―coward‖ and tells him to speed up a bit. They will be late for school if he doesn’t ste p on it! He presses the gas pedal down and accelerates but finds it difficult to tame the steering wheel of the mobile locomotive. His sister tells him to watch the road attentively, but he turns to tell her a witty(机智的)remake and doesn’t see the embankmen t(路基)ahead of him. Just a second of distraction(分心)rotating the wheel, he sending the car down to the embankment, and the car rolls over and over and hits a tree. Jason’s head hits the wind shield and he is trapped between that and the steering wheel. He c an’t breathe and is losing consciousness(意识).Joanna tries desperately to free him, but is unable(不能的)to. She does the only thing possible—that is to escape out of the open window and find help… fast!

Ambulances arrive in a few minutes but Jason is unconscious. They have to extricate(救出)him with the ―Jaws of Life‖(救生颚(商标名)).He is taken to the hospital and for three days he lies between life and death. He is breathing only with the assistance of a respirator(呼吸器).That has limited his brain activity. The doctors take Jeff aside and notify him that Jason has extensive brain damage and that there is no real hope that Jason would be normal again. Jeff must make a decision whether to turn off the respirator and let Jason die in peace. He thinks that it’s the be st decision but it is also the most

painful one he has ever made in his life.

Jason and Jeff shared a durable bond. They did everything together from the time he was born. When they had a free moment, they would be golfing, skiing, playing badminton. They formed a bond of love that remains even beyond the boundaries of life and death. It is an extraordinary relationship between father and son.

Jason lived only sixteen years but he did so much in his short time on Earth. He was very academic, a musician, an athlete, a golf fanatic, liked archeology(考古学)and was a lover of life. He had many, many friends and thirsted for living, which was quite unlike anyone I had witnessed. He had the kind of boyish charm and he lit up a room when he entered it. He had a beautiful: smile and kind words for everyone. I have never seen him get angry but he was always cheerful and intelligent. I was Jason’s godmother(教母)and when he was baptized(受洗礼)in 1974,he had the coolest priest. The priest had long hair and sandals. I still smile when I think about that priest. Jason cried when I held him for the blessing(祈祷)of the water but not for very long. The ceremony only took a few moments, but looking down at Jason, I knew then, that this was indeed a special child. It turned out my impressions were correct.

Jeff was an enthusiastic, devoted and a superb father to Jason and Joanna. He made sure that he spent a lot of time with his children. Time seemed to be of the utmost importance to him as well as having fun. He always enjoyed life and was a bit of a risk taker. Golf was a pastime that Jason and Jeff shared. It was almost religions. They would even attempt to golf when there was accumulation of snow on the golf course. Jason would just put his gloves on and laugh. ―I must golf!‖ he would say, ―I love it!‖

One year earlier, Jason was pursuing another kind of sports: Skiing. He liked the skiing attitude. A few of his friends drove up to Sugarloaf Mountain and skied for the whole day. You know, Sugarloaf has a wonderful mountain slope for skiing. Jason spent the day back and forth along the mountain skiing trails for many runs. Once sunset was illuminating the snow and there was a group of trees ahead. The sun blinded him for a second and he tried to avoid the trees but ran into. The ski pole plunged right into his head and fractured his skull. There was a gush of blood on his head but Jason did his best to slide down the mountain. He drove himself to the emergency room, where the doctors scratch their heads wondering how he was injured. But he was lucky to be alive. A few days later, Jason was back on the ski slopes like nothing happened at all. He was just that kind of young man. He overcame the misfortune and lived for exactly one extra year. Jeff told this story at Jason’s funeral. His eyes filled up with tears of lov e every time he mentioned Jason’s name.

Jason’s bedroom is a testimony to his personality and his life. He has a collection of model airplanes. On the piano there is still the music of the song that was Jason’s favorite of his time, ―Chariots(战车)of Fire‖. Jason was a very outgoing(对人友好的)young man. He was an accomplished student and a sportsman. Jason had lots of merits and had many, many friends who loved him. I loved Jason very much. Jeff and Jason share a bond of affection that defies death.

Today, Jeff’s home is open to anyone who has a thirst for living. He loves to have fun. He isn’t the one to sit still and let life pass him by. He wants to help young people develop their potentials. He is a member of a mutual aid association. He set up a college fund for the study of music and it would be available to any eligible student who shares Jason’s philosophy of being outgoing and hardworking. It is called the Jason Music Scholarship Fund. It is his way of carrying on Jason’s musical dreams. Now Jason rests by a beautiful river in a bed of roses. Jeff visits him every week, along with his wife.

译文:

Unit 6 A Woman's Distress (91)

一个女人的苦恼

一个孤独的女人，同样也是一个情感丰富的女人，她在周末的空闲里会做些什么呢？在众多的选择中．詹却选择了独自守在郊区的木屋里用写作的形式来发泄自己的情感。写作虽然不是她的专业，却帮助她体验成就感，帮助她从

生命中曾经忍受的痛苦中摆脱出来……

The morning was moist, and the fog had set in last evening and still masked over the shabby cabin hidden deep within the Turtle Mountains. She shivered as she stepped bare foot onto unfinished slabs that held her deck together. She had purchased the slabs from the Hillbilly Board Store.

Her white sleeping gown hung below her knees with just a white cotton lace. Her soft hair was loosely(宽松地)tied back with a piece of purple ribbon softly and gloriously falling out the sides and touching her cheeks of pale skin.

Jen was so glad to be out of the city for a few days. This was her weekend retreat. She loved the cabin. and it gave her confidence and peace and complacency(满足)in herself. Jen worked everyday in an attorney’s office as a consultant. She handled stacks of legal documents daily. So when the weekend and holidays came around she would head for her cabin. Her cabin was thirty-seven miles from the city. It was excluded from other cabins at the lake. She liked it that way.

Jen had a secret, a secret she never told anyone: she was an amateur writer. She had a love for writing. Her writing is comprised by essays, fables, poems, and true stories about people she had come to know. Writing compositions about her childhood she could recall or anything that: kept her interest. Jen never told anyone about her love for writing. She always felt people would consider her as a bit crazy. With so many activities to do on weekends, why would she choose to sit and write?

The cabin was perfect: the breeze was fragrant and she could hear frogs croak(咕咕叫)from time to time. She would sit with her pen in hand and her spiral tablets(活页簿)and would write whatever came to her mind. Sometimes her novels and stories would dominate her and make her cry so hard that she would have to put her writing down and ask herself why she was doing this.

She would write a song, then hum it-and sing it to herself until she believed it was a real song, real like the songs on the radio or television or even imagined some famous singer singing her song.

From her standpoint, writing gave her a feeling of complete satisfaction with herself. It’s not her expertise but it helped her to experience successes and overcome the pain she had endured throughout her lifetime. It helped her to articulate the feelings deep in her heart. It helped her to bring imaginary people and places to reality in her mind. It was a freedom no one ever knew. Her writing was her true complement and soul mate that she could trust.

Jen recently has purchased a computer and took an oath to herself that she would compile her writings and put them into the computer just to have for herself. It was an undertaking which would take a while but having her writings organized for the first time would be great.

It was going to be a dreary(阴沉的)weekend, but Jen didn’t mind. She didn’t plan on spending it outside anyway. For her, it was a stressful weekend. She had too many tasks to complete and the hours went away too fast for her when she was not at work.

Stretching her arms above her head, sticking out her chin and yawning as if it were a sign of freedom, Jen stretched every muscle in her body. ―Good morning, world‖, she yelled out as she turned to go into her cabin.

The cabin was small in dimension, having four rooms to be exact, but it was all Jen needed. Her living room and kitchen were combined in one large room only the kitchen table separating them. The bedroom was direct opposite the living-room and the bathroom facing the kitchen. The backside of the cabin was an enclosed porch that was screened to enjoy a fresh breeze in the warm evenings and yet keep the irritating bugs away.

Jen poured herself a glass of brandy, sat at her kitchen table and stared into space. Words were running through her mind, words of peace, words of beauty and poetry to relax by.

She picked UD her Den and started to write.

Feeling like rose petals(花瓣)softened by the morning dew,

Sweet scent fills the soul when I think of you.

The way you hold me when I adz lonely and down

Like drops of water running through a pebbled brook.

And the laughter in your eyes every time I look,

Like soft rain falling, I have loved you from the start.

I know you can never show your love for me.

Your life has been drafted and she is yours forever.

But darling I need you to understand 1 will always love you.

I'll be here when you need me even if it's for an hour or two.

I will never love another and 1 will die with you in my heart.

Forbidden as it may be, I have loved you from the start.

She put the pen down on the table thereafter as she could feel her eyes filling up with mist. She began to sob. Damn him, why did he do this to me, why did I torture myself. I knew he was a married man, I always knew it and yet I let myself fall in love with him.

Jen wiped the tears that were streaming down her cheeks, and she knew she had to get on with her lire.

The weekend went fast, Jen had entered over one hundred of her poems on the computer and had written a few new ones too. She cried a lot of tears and yet had a few good laughs as she was reading what she had written. She always enjoyed going back and reading her previous writings. Sometimes she had even forgotten she had written some of them.

As Jen locked the cabin door, she slowly walked to her car, knowing it would be another week before she could return. She loved the cabin and her writing. After all it was all she had right now as she was trying her best not to break up her best friend’s marriage.

译文:

Unit 7 On Duty (109)

值勤

一个年轻士兵，一个怀孕女人，一个奇特的场景。没人能够领会他们当时真正的心理，但只需领会一个人生命中总会偶尔被他人感动，而自己也可能在无意中感动别人，就足够了……

The young soldier, stationed on guard at a foreign city street corner, sheltered himself from the biting late evening wind by standing back against the lee(背风的)side of a small, one storey building, occasionally peering around to view the large crowd that had gathered on the main street.

He didn’t know why the people were there, nor did he care; after all, it wasn’t his country, and none of his concern. He had been in the Army for only six months, enlisting on the same day when he had turned eighteen, and he didn’t understand the local language or any of the country’s dialects. He could speak only a few words and phrases, just enough for him to occasionally purchase some of the local food and beverages.

The commander had told him to watch the assembly, and if they began to get rowdy(粗暴的)and appear to get out of control, he should immediately inform his partner, now stationed across the street, for reinforcements, garrisoned(驻守)just two blocks away. Looking at the disorder on the street, he thought, it must be some kind of protest for some radical cause or other.

He also thought about home, half a world away, and of a girl named Lisa, whom he planned to marry during his next leave. Six more months and he would be a married man. The thought made him smile.

Suddenly, about a block up the street, the crowd emitted up a loud roar, awakening the young soldier from his marital daydream. Back into reality, he quickly scanned the area, noticing that many of the people were pointing towards a woman in the middle of the street, coming from the darkness, like an aerial statue floating above the crowd. He saw a bearded man ahead of the woman, looking as if he was towing her along. Perhaps the woman sat upon a cart or some other wheeled device, but the soldier couldn’t tell in accuracy because too many people blocked his view. Occasionally, through small gaps between the many bodies in front of him, he could see the woman’s waist, and she appeared to be pregnant.

When the shouting became louder, the young soldier kept a watchful(警惕的)eye on the couple as they drew nearer, and at the same time he tried to guess the crowd’s mood, but he couldn’t find out if it was good or bad. He quickly checked his weapon, just in case he might have to defend himself. Then he turned his attention to a group of five dubious and nasty-looking young men standing nearby, ones that he had seen drinking liquor earlier in the evening. He was watching them carefully to make sure they didn’t throw anything handy that might cause harm to the passing couple. Soon, the man and woman came directly in front of the young soldier and the five men, but instead of causing trouble, the drunken five began to wave their arms over their heads and cheer.

Noticing the cheers, the woman turned her head and looked directly at the five men for an instant, then her gaze quickly shifted to the young soldier. Although she smiled when she nodded her head at him, the soldier could sense a deep pain in the woman’s eyes. Fascinated by what he saw, he continued to stare at the woman, his eyes locked onto hers. He couldn’t tear his gaze away. Suddenly, a feeling of solemnity seeped(渗入)into the core of him like a wave of warm water, something that he had never experienced before. A moment later the woman broke the eye contact, and then she and her male companion disappeared, melting into the crowd and proceeding down the street towards one of the local inns.

After a short while, the crowd became quiet and began to disperse.

Within fifteen minutes the young soldier stood sober alone, looking up and down an empty street.

A moment later, he noticed three well-dressed men coming out of the darkness, traveling from the same direction as the bearded man and pregnant woman, heading directly towards him. At that same instant he heard his commander’s voice behind him, ―soldier, you’re relieved of your duty here. Fall in.‖Marching back to the barracks(军营)in formation with the rest of the sentinels(哨兵),the young soldier looked up at the clear night sky, wondering if the woman with the mournful eyes and peaceful smile had noticed the extremely bright stars overhead.

译文:

Unit 8 The Moon Princess (123)

月亮公主

历来，地球上的王国战争总是不断，而人民备受其害。除了作战，他们还要在平时缴纳沉重的赋税，否则就要人头落地。作为善良象征的月亮公主这次能救苍生于水深火热吗？

A mythical(神话的,神话般的)music echoed over the tall buildings, floating toward the heavens through clusters of stars and gently making a light rain sprinkle over the forehead of the Moon Princess. She slept on a couch of cloud and on a pillow of fur, her pitch-black hair dazzling on the pure white of her bed; her six male servants knelt at the foot of her and waited. She stirred, her white suit shimmering with diamonds and crystals as the moon cast its brilliant rays over her slender body, and her deep blue eyes opened. Her servants bowed down in piety(虔诚)and offered her six black boxes, each containing a jewel. The Princess looked quickly over them and chose a jewel, then flung it into the orbit where it became a falling star that she hoped people would see so they could pray on it. She stood up and quivered slightly, still recovering from her long sleep and her devout(虔敬的)servants rushed shortly to hold her tap. The Princess had been sleeping for a hundred solar calendar years, a punishment from a powerful and ambitious Emperor on earth because she had resolved a conflict between his people and another tribe and had been hated for it. She slowly walked over the nickel-plating cube boxes that were laid out for her to make a bridge toward the Moon. She stepped onto its cool surface and toward her throne, one made of silver encrusted with stars that could no longer hold themselves in the sky.

The Princess sat down and turned to her servants who absently lay at her feet. She gestured for them to stand up. ―Tell me,‖ she said, ―tell me about the world now;are there still wars?‖ Her servants nodded sadly. One stepped forward, his blonde hair brushing against his cheek and he knelt at his Princess’s feet. ―My dear lady‖, he spoke sadly yet his voice hinted a warning(警告), ―as you slept, the

Emperor passed away and his son Calaf was his successor and he is even more blood-thirsty than his father. We all hate him.‖ The Princess rose to her feet.

―Then I must stop him。I cannot stand to see innocent people killed in the name of an Emperor. Are they still fight ing with the neighboring tribe?‖ The man nodded. ―Then once again I must try to stop this mischief. I do not care what happens to me as long as they stop this nonsense.‖ She walked swiftly across the cold surface of the moon and looked toward the earth. ―F etch my cloak,‖ she commanded, ―I will go down now to them and negotiate with this man.‖ Without saying anything her servants fetched a white silk cloak and wrapped it round her shoulders. ―Good luck,‖ they told her in a neutral tone. The princess jumped and floated gently from the moon to earth below.

Emperor Calaf sat on a gold throne with velvet cushions at his back. He lived in abundance. He had everything no one could ever want and he boasted about it, but he was not satisfied with it. He wanted mo re and he didn’t care how he got anything as long as it pleased him. He oppressed the workers and raised taxes so arbitrarily(任意地)that people in poverty struggled to pay them. He looked out of the temple’s window. The royal court doors burst open and two muscular guards hurled in a terrified man who cowered(畏缩)at the wicked Emperor’s f eet. This was what Calaf had been waiting for. This man couldn’t pay his taxes so he would be sentenced to death. The man said nothing, either too scared to speak or knew nothing better than to be silent. The Emperor smiled evilly(邪恶地)and kicked the man in the face so he fell back into the guards.―Take him and execute him.

I want it in public so all those other fools can see what happens if you don’t pay up on time.‖The guards bowed from the waist and dragged the man away. Calaf got up and for an Emperor he was more like a celebrity, very slim and good-looking. He walked down a corridor after the guards, wanting to see this death. It was fun for him to listen to the man’s scream as his loyal executioner(刽子手)either slitted his throat or beheaded(斩首)him on a rack. He turned left from where the guards went out and onto a balcony, which had a better view there. The crowds called out the executioner’s name over and over, but Calaf didn’t know why they were so excited that they were acting as if this were an enemy being put into death.

One woman, however, caught his attention. She wasn’t from around here and that fascinated Calaf because he had never known anyone from other towns came here. Her beauty was perfect and she seemed disgusted by the crowds and the execution. He watched her run through the cheering crowds as the executioner brought his axe down. ―Where’s she gone?‖ He thought to himself, and then he saw she was heading into his temple. ―How dare she!?‖ Calaf stormed from the balcony into his throne room and found the woman stood by the door. He froze as her gaze pierced him. ―Who are you?‖ He demanded, ―and why are you here?‖

―I am the Moon Princess and you were born from the blood of many people and from the body of your father, by reputation the most sinful man I have ever known.‖Calaf stood in stunned silence, how dared she speak to him like that?―I know you,‖he said,―you are the one who tried to stop the war between my tribe and Emperor Timur’s tribe. I thought my father put you to sleep.‖―Alas(唉),he did but 1 only slept for one hundred years. After seventy-five I recalled your father passed away and a child of ten was left in his place, am I right?‖

―Yes! I was ten when I took o ver throne and I am doing what my father wanted, I have destroyed Timur’s tribe and made a lot of money for my kingdom.‖The Princess laughed。―making a lot of money for the kingdom? That is a lie。you're filling your own pockets with soiled gold and I am going to stop you once and for all!‖Now it was Calaf’s turn to laugh,―I would like to see you try, you are nothing but a woman and how would you stand against my great army? Go you stupid creature and don’t return!‖The Princess said nothing and went out of th e throne room. She would stay here and find out more before taking further action.

译文:

Unit 9 Meaning of Culture (137)

文化的意义

人类不仅拥有文字，通过长期积累，人类还形成了丰富多彩的文化。而动物没有语言，其知识局限于本能或直接观察现实所学到的东西……

Man differs from animal species in many ways. Biologically the difference is minor but in mind there are many differences. Man lives in the world of ideas, and acts and reacts in terms of concepts about objects and organizations. The animals live only in the present, they are not possessed of language, and their knowledge is limited to instinct or what they learn by direct and present observations. Their learning does not accumulate except for what they can presently use. Man on the other hand can simultaneously look into the past, present and future. He possesses the capacity to talk, to respond, to represent, to accumulate knowledge and to learn from the stimulus response relationships(刺激反应关系). These peculiar elements in the make-up of man provide a long history and tradition of wisdom, accumulated in various forms of civilization from which culture grows and continues flowing. The fundamentals of culture developed by past generations serve as the foundation stone to the next generation. The new generation further adds to the past accumulation of civilization and culture and enables man to continually assimilate in the stream of culture. Thus man continues to live as a civilized and cultured member of society.

Scientific inventions and discoveries greatly influence cultural variability(变化性，易变性). They affect tradition, customs, beliefs and faiths. They not only affect the present and future ideology(意识形态) of society but also practically bring about changes in artistic products and cultural environment. They quite often undermine the spiritual aspect of cultural life and provide material patterns. Inventions and discoveries bring about changes in the mode of production, art, morals, customs, laws, literature, etc. the changing mode of production affects the culture. Karl Marx held that the culture of capitalist countries differed from that of socialist countries because of the differences in the modes of production. What does culture do? The first function of culture is to make man a human being. It is culture that regulates his conduct and prepares him for group life. It teaches him the art of living as per the cultural traits of the group. He takes the food, wears the clothes, goes to school, speaks the language and does so many other little things of day-to-day life which are a part of the conventional norms, mores(风俗), laws, customs and morals of the group. The culture of a group plays a major part in the heightening human qualities of its individuals and save them from avoiding participation in the cultural stream. The culture of the group must give to its individual the capacity to lead a social life as an effective member of society. With the induction of the individual as an effective participant in the social life of the group, one can greatly gain by the utilization of energy of the individual in different constructive activities, which not only provides satisfaction on to the individual but also benefits the group.

The second important role of culture is to keep social relationship intact so that the group as a whole can maintain and develop the value s and ideals of the group through the regulation of behaviors of its members and by satisfying their primary needs and objectives in respect of the necessities and luxuries of life. People learn to behave socially in a group because their behavior is subject to approval or disapproval.

The culture of a group provides a number of controls on the irrational conducts for its members. It organizes many cultural aids like schooling, provision of work, outlet to talent, etc. these outlets go to provide rationality and responsibility to the members and integrate them mentally, morally and sentimentally in the group. A culturally advanced group is also capable of providing a coordinated set-up to take the best out of each member and in return give the necessary comfort for personal development, recreation and emotional living. It must also provide other facilities for broadening the vision of the individual members so as to provide necessary motivations for creation in different fields of social activity including production of pieces of art, handicrafts and scientific implements and equipments which the group may need for the satisfaction of its different cultural and material requirements.

The next important function of culture is to instantly provide new interpretation to different situations

arising from the traditional cultural elements transmitted to the group. Provision of interpretation to traditional culture helps the reorientation (重新定位)of present and future cultural trends, putting them on the right track. For instance, in the modern era it is the duty of the school and other institution of a group to tell its members that if a cat crosses his way he needs not consider it unfortunate and give up the new projects, which is needed in the modern norms of society.

However, these interpretations based on tradition may differ from culture to culture. Among some cultures the owl may still be regarded as a symbol of bad luck while in others it may be symbol of wisdom.

The principle of cultural diffusion has been advocated by three German scholars. Cultural diffusion is the process by which the cultural trades of one group of society are spread directly or indirectly to other societies. It is historically established that some societies have served as centers of cultural unification. After the birth of Christ was born a cultural center, from where many cultural trades in the field of art and political organization got diffused to the northwestern Europe and to the east up to India. Subsequently Rome(罗马)became a great cultural center from where Roman law spread in most countries of Europe. In ancient time India was the cultural center from where many cultural trade spread eastward up to Indonesia(印度尼西亚) and passed through the fourteenth century. European culture became the dominant element in Asia and Africa and even America. At present the United States and Russia are exporting their respective cultures to different countries.

Several factors influence the diffusion of culture. The foremost is the capacity of the cultural center to inspire other countries to import the culture. The most important vehicle of cultural diffusion is mass communication, tourism, and exchange of educational and cultural delegations and teams, literature, films, etc. Obstruction to cultural diffusion may sometimes arise from the refusal of a group to borrow or import from the other group. Such a group tends to become an island of local culture untouched by the culturally developed countries. Sometimes a cultural island may exist within a larger cultural island. For example, in India the caste(印度的世袭等级)system that has separated Brahmins(印度的婆罗门阶级)from the other social groups for many generations on supposed biological superiority may reject a foreign cultural form, as they fear its impact on the prevail moral norms and social value s. It is for this reason that cultural centers of new value s find it more expeditious to invade foreign cultures through such means as the mass media. This process, although indirect and slow, has in due course a lasting impact as it appeals to the coming generations of the foreign countries which are still not fully socialized to the local cultures. For example, the young age groups in India were subjected to cultural influence of the Beatles(披头士乐队，甲壳虫乐队) for quite a long time.

译文:

Unit 10 Two Strangers (165)

两个陌生人

有一种真情，直到老了才能体会：有一种眷恋，想来平凡但又真切。谁说陌生人眼里只有陌生？只要用心体会，人与人的沟通就会更加顺畅……

Not that I would have cared. No, it is not the reason why I stopped. He gave a faint sigh, like the sigh of one who has a thousand stories to tell but only a moment left in one's life.

In fact it was the sound of a piece of metal hitting the pavement that made me turn around. I had already passed the man, walking promptly as I always do. I had all the time in the world that evening, and I had nowhere to go--I just took a walk along the street.

But as I tried to draw out my keys from the pocket of my brown leather jacket, a small coin fell on the ground making that clinking(叮当响的) noise. Why would I pull out the keys from the pocket here, on the street, kilometers away from any door which the keys could open? It was the sense of security: wishing to be sure that everything is completely in my control.

Yes, I had heard the sound right: there was a ten-cent coin lying on the ground beside an old man, a stranger to me, and seemingly(看来) a stranger to all the people who passed him on the pavement that

afternoon. It was spring then; the first warm and sunny evenings of the year were at hand. The day was all too beautiful to be wasted in talking to a complete stranger, who was not even handsome or beautiful or good-looking, and listening to the obscure groans he uttered. Why should I care what he was trying to say, what kind of a burden he might have on his heart?

But I did pick up the coin from the ground, and put it into the pocket of my fashionable leather jacket. "Fashionable", that's what they said in the advertisements of the clothing company. Latest designs, latest cuts, best colors.

I was better off(富裕的) than the old man, who was sitting on the bench with a newspaper in his hands, murmuring something at me. I guess my income had to be twice more than what he had.And I looked more stylish--younger, healthier, more joyous(高兴的).

The man grabbed the sleeve of my jacket and drew me closer to himself. It was surprising--such sudden demand of personal contact and intimacy which two strangers passing each other on the street did not often develop between themselves. I was curious to know what could come out of such an exceptional situation, I... I forgot to draw myself back, to forcefully free myself of the grip of the man and rush away. The old man put his newspaper in my hand and said, "Please read it for me. " I am not so sure what the exact words were which he uttered from his mouth, but I understood what his meaning to be. The man was not blind; he could see both me and all the people who were walking on the street. But perhaps his sight was too weak for reading the small print of the newspaper.

I looked at the front page; it was dated four days ago. I was disappointed. I didn't want to waste a nice day in reading news that were no news any more. Wasn't it like throwing one's coins away when one could as well buy candies with them, or sitting beside a stranger when one could as well walk free and alone on the street, hurrying somewhere?

"Read the classified advertisements", said the old man, whom I scarcely knew at all, but who had courageously(勇敢地) grabbed my sleeve without permission, demanding me to pay attention to him.

I opened the requested page. What then? Should I read all the ads:cats for sale, lost dogs wanted, motor vehicles rented, repaired, washed, and painted?

"Go to the miscellaneous(综合的，混杂的) section," the man pleaded.

Those ads were not so many, only fifteen or twenty. In a monotonous voice I recited announcement after announcement: second-hand bicycles, unused electronic devices, lost wedding ring...

"There! Read that one again, please," said the man, filled with excitement.

"Mr. Whoever(敬启者，某某先生), the lost wedding ring described in your ad is in my possession. Meet me at railway station next Sunday, at 19 o'clock. " I read the announcement once again.

It was Sunday then. And the time was, at the moment when I looked at my watch and announced it to the man who asked about it, 18:27.

The old man wanted to explain something to me. He leaned forward, getting his face close to my ear, and whispered, "It is the ring of my wife. She lost it a month ago. Oh! What a sorrowful thing it was to find out that the ring which you have worn for five decades cannot be found anywhere. I bought it at Dahlberg's jewellery shop. I can still remember how the saleswoman was dressed that morning. In pink, that's what it was, in soft, charming pink... But the shop isn't there any more. I think they went bankrupt soon after the war. Such a pity, it was a nice little store. And we have our fiftieth anniversary on Sunday. "

The man didn't say more about his wife or the wedding ring; he only brushed his gray hair with a plastic comb.

"I think I will go and buy a bunch of roses", the gray-haired gentleman said. "I'11 ask the saleswoman to choose beautiful ones. What do you think, will she be dressed in light pink, just like the lady at Dahlberg's jewellery shop? But my wife wore a dark dress this morning. That's how you can tell that a woman is getting old... They wear darker clothes. No, I will tell my darling to wear something brighter this evening. "

The man stood up and started to slowly walk toward the direction of the railway station. There was an air of steadfastness(坚定) in him--something that could not be purchased with money, or won in a lottery. Was he stylish? Yes--he was not like the laughing youngsters in the advertisements, but there was something else in him, something more admirable, more valuable.

I still held the newspaper in my hand when the old gentleman disappeared behind the corner of one of the houses. I didn't open or read the paper any more, I only sat in silence on the bench. Time was the only thing that moved; everything else stood still.

I leaned back in the bench and stared into the distance. I did not want to walk away, hurrying into a direction chosen at random.

译文:

Unit 11 Edward and His Incredible Black Hole (177)

爱德华和他那难以置信的黑洞

小时候，最吸引人的童话故事或者动画片总是与星空和宇宙有关。很多人在童年里都做过飞上太空﹑探索宇宙的梦想。爱德华将梦想付诸实施，虽然其结局是悲惨的，但谁能说，他的科学探索精神不是可贵的？

Edward had a marvelous plan. He was going to create a genuine mini Black Hole, right here on earth. Edward lived alone in the suburban sprawl(无规则蔓延)of a large city. His father had experimented with inventions in his large steel garage. Because of this, his mother had left home four years ago. He missed his father who had died of a heart attack two summers ago.

Edward worked during the day as an attendant at the City Library where he taught himself technology so that he could understand his father’s notebooks. At home he stumbled around in track-pants(运动裤)and a T-shirt and busily modified his father’s equipment.

Edward put coils of copper tube, large permanent magnets, sheets of aluminum foil, old iron tubes full of silicone(硅树脂) sealant(密封剂) together to construct a two and a half meters high intricate apparatus, putting a copper vertical horn on top. The horn, like the front of a large trumpet, was pointed towards the ceiling.

Today was Edward’s twenty-second birthday, remembered only by the lovely Fiona, the Circulation Librarian. At lunchtime, Fiona had kissed him on the cheek in front of everybody in the tearoom. Edward had flushed crimson(深红色)with embarrassment.

But now was the moment. He climbed the stepladder(活动梯子) and peered into the trumpet. The curved mirror at its base magnified his reflected image and he admired his golden curly hair and his green eyes, but loathed(讨厌) his big ears.

Edward sipped on a glass of cheap soda and whispered, ―Black holes are the mysteries of our universe. Everything that enters them never leaves——even light.‖ He had a collection of hardware items arranged near him so that he could throw them into the Black Hole and watch them disappear. Edward sat at the computer controls for the Black Hole Generator.

―That’s one small step for a man…‖ Edward intoned(拖长音) and double-clicked on the start icon. There was a loud vibra ting noise and a strange glaring effect in the horn. Edward didn’t realize that a simple software mistake had reversed the polarity(极性) of his black hold generator. Yes, he could see that the interior of the horn was indeed the deepest, blackest thing that he had ever seen, but within the blackness he could soon make out sparkling points of every color imaginable.

―Stars?‖ he thought just before he died. Within a few seconds, around a hundred million colorful ballpoint pens shot out of the horn, bounced off the roof and filled up the garage, spearing poor Edward to death. As every lost ballpoint pen in the world poured out of the black hole, the pressure blew the top off the garage and the mountain of pens continued to grow.

Soon every lost sock in the world flew into the air from the trumpet, and covered the mountain of pens. Then a great number of shopping lists fluttered into the air, followed by an emission of lottery tickets, and train, tram, bus and concert tickets. This was followed by every letter, telegram and E-mail that had never arrived.

Edward’s garage then collapsed as millions of metal keys shot out of the horn and rained down---lost front door keys, car keys and locker keys. The overflow continued as sewing needles, cuff(袖口) links, pencil sharpeners, razors and lost passports, followed by countless of pins.

Can openers, bottle openers and corkscrews(开塞钻) were followed by sink plugs and remote controls. As these flooded over the local community, they were covered by clothes pegs(衣夹), the caps of toothpaste tubes and a flow of overdue(过期的) library books.

A veritable(真正的) mountain of lost-receipts needed by the taxman was followed by every lost screw nut from a world of car engines, household appliances and technical instruments.

As the city sagged(下陷) beneath the weight of all these lost things, millions of credit cards fluttered into the air and rained down.

Edward would have been amazed, except that he was long dead.

Finally, just before the black hole generator disappeared in a puff of smoke, every lost love in the history of the world was expelled into the air and rained down in an overflow of desolation.

译文:

Unit 12 Killing Time (193)

生死时刻

我是一名退役的战士，有一次在银行里成功地制止了一次抢劫和劫持人质案。在那个生死时刻……

This was a common place for me but today I discerned there was something wrong when I turned around. Wrong means not right. There were two men in the bank now, a big guy just inside the door and a smaller one more like a skeleton in the middle of the floor.

Big guy was leafing through the leaflets on the counter, but his eyes were on the door and the eyes of the small guy never stopped moving and were scouting the scope and layout of the room, his head moved like that of a tennis fan sitting at the net.

Small guy was making a thing of deciding which queue to join, but it was the way he stood that held my attention. His left arm was tight against his body and he was wearing a long coat. Nothing wrong with that, it was winter.

Still wrong. It's transparent to me that he was carrying a weapon. On closer observation, big guy was likewise sort of leaning against the counter and in an instant I knew that he was using his weight to jam his gun between him and the counter. A robbery was about to happen.

If I attacked the small guy, I'd be easily picked off by the big guy as I struggled to get small guy's gun. If I walked casually by, and seized the big guy, the small guy would shoot the customers around him and take some nice-looking teller(银行出纳) as a hostage.

The situation was urgent. It was better to leave and call for immediate assistance. Assistance? I wasn't a soldier any more. I had been retired. Better to call the police, as normal people do. I could be anonymous then.

As I walked by, the small guy started to move. He swung back his coat and revealed a pistol and started to yell, "Attention, everyb--!" The small guy was too busy to finish the second word.In the instant an idea flashed into my mind,"why the big coat for such a small gun", then thought "winter" again. Fortunately for me, it was not I that stopped him but a keen security guard who'd obviously seen the same signs I had. Fortunate for me, but unfortunate for the security-man. He hadn't noted that the big guy was an accomplice(同伙). After an interval of a few seconds,he fired a pistol at the back of the guard's head as he walked over to check on the dead small guy. He fell on the body of the small guy, blood streamed down from his wound.

Big guy stood there, momentarily as if deciding what to do. His eyes were a little wild but not scared. I thought again about rushing at him, but the distance was too great. Better to wait. All around me, people were screaming and moaning in shock and some people were already lying on the ground, anticipating the big guy's next instruction. The screaming did not bother him, which was both good and bad. It was good because the cool gunman was unlikely to shoot unnecessarily and bad because he

would shoot without pausing if the situation required it.

It seemed there was chaos in the place. The only ones standing silent were him and me. For a moment, our eyes met and gazed at each other. Did he know me? How could he? The sound of the approaching alarms broke our gaze and the big guy calmly and loudly instructed everybody to lie on the floor. I did as he bade, but taking as many steps forward as I dared before lying down. I was no more than five yards from him.

He gave an imperative order, "If everybody does what I say, no one will get hurt. This is just a robbery gone wrong and I want to use you good people as hostages so that I can get away!" He didn't have to say any more than that. We'd all seen in perspective what had happened and knew he could kill some of us. The "hostage" in his short speech made it clear that he was saying he would threaten to kill hostages if his demands were not met.

The police arrived and contact was made straight away. He said that he would kill a hostage every ten minutes until he was given a clear passage to the private airways strip, where a helicopter was to take him to Cuba(古巴). He would bring hostages along with him as insurance against any unpredictable(不可预测的) trouble.

As the first ten-minute deadline approached, the big guy scanned the hostages in front of him.His eyes touched mine, but he moved on, looking for something. "You! Kid!" Everybody looked back and saw a boy, about ten years old, cowering behind his mother. "Get over here! Get over here, NOOOW!" shouted the big guy, as the boy cowered further.

I could see he would act for the ultimate aim--to kill a kid and to make them know he was serious. I couldn't let the tragedy(悲剧) happen. Could I hide and wait and let all this happen and walk away? All my training said I could. "Bad things will happen around you", said the Controller.

"Terrible things. But if it doesn't happen to you,it's not your liability to stop them. " I had seen terrible things and walked away. But not today.

"Take me", I said, standing up and making another vital step forward. "Leave the kid and take me". Everybody looked at me, some of them taking me for a suicidal (自杀的) person and thought it was a movie. This is really happening, their eyes said to me, for God's sake,to sit down before he would kill you.

It was too late. ―OK, come here by the door and kneel in front of it‖. He said this as if he was a surgeon inviting a patient into his surgery. "Were you in the army?" He asked casually as I walked towards him. "No", I replied. This had to be quick. I would have no chance to seize him when I was kneeling at the front door.

"You're saving me from the trouble", I said, casually setting his mind at ease so that he needn't worry about my last-minute efforts for freedom. If he were wary(警惕的) of me, he would not take his eyes off me. In the instant he turned to walk with me towards the door, I had my arm around his neck. It broke like a toothpick(牙签) and he died instantly.

He didn't even get a shot off. It was done at one stroke without noise and he slumped into the floor. I turned around to see people looking at me horrified. I knew then that I had killed him too easily, too quickly.

One of the tellers picked up the phone and spoke to the police. Suddenly the place was overrun(占据) with uniforms. Eventually, we were all shepherded to waiting police cars and moved down-town to the station house.

I was ushered(引导) into an interview room. They showed me the close circuit TV coverage(闭路电视录像) of the incident in the bank and I made a statement corroborating(证实) what had happened. "You are being charged with murder," said the detective whose name I could not remember,"but this evidence should show that it was self-defense(自卫)". Well, anyway, I was fighting against almost certain death, and they were the same thing. I didn't argue.

"You served in the military?" He asked. He was looking at me carefully. I got the impression that the

【参考借鉴】星火贯通英语15篇文章贯通六级词汇.doc

星火贯通英语15篇文章贯通六级词汇 Preface前言 Directions使用说明 Unit1InAnotherWorm另一个世界 Unit2Let'sDressUp-It'sHalloween万圣节——让我们盛装打扮起来 Unit3Gardening园艺 Unit4ACanadianFamilRStorR一个加拿大家庭的故事 Unit5TheFraud这个骗子 Unit6ThePasture牧场 Unit7TheDecision决定 Unit8Chinese-AmericanRelations：AHistorR（Ⅰ）中美关系史（一） Unit9Chinese-AmericanRelations：AHistorR（Ⅱ）中美关系史（二） Unit10ASolitarRQuest独自寻访 Unit11ActingTodaRforTomorrow为了明天，今天就行动吧 Unit12TheAmericanDream美国梦 Unit13SeRRoleStereotRpes性别成规 Unit14Dr．SunRat-sen：FatheroftheChineseRevolution中国革命之父孙中山先生 Unitl5TheWorldTradeOrganization（WTO）andChinaWTO与中国 AppendiR附录 IndeR索引 UNIT1 InAnotherWorld HereIam,inChina,halfwaRaroundtheworldfromhome.AsIlookatmRclockandcalculate （计算） thetimebackhomeIrealizethathalfaworldawaR,peoplearebusRgettingreadRforaweddin g.ThebrideismRniece（侄女）,apersonIfirstmetwhenshewasthreedaRsold. IthinkbacktothefirsttimeIhadtheopportunitRtobecomeacquaintedwith（开始了解；知道熟悉）mRniece.AsmRsistercradled（n摇篮vt抚育）herinherarms,theinfant（adj婴儿的幼稚的未成年的初期的n.婴儿）girlclasped（紧抱）hermother'soutstretched（伸开的）finger.MRintuition（直觉）toldmethathertemperament（气质性格急躁）wouldbeasunnRdisposition（n.处置性情部署倾向）,ajoRtopeoplearoundher. Asshegrew,thecutelittlegirlhadaninfectious（adj.传染的）laughthatstartedasasmallgrin（n.adj.露齿笑）,thenbecameagiggle（n.v.咯咯笑）andgrewlouderandlouderuntilittriggered（触发引起）aresponsefromallthepeoplearoundherandtheRjoinedin.

考研英语复习计划及详细方案

考研英语复习计划及详细方案 案例一： 我英语底子薄，基础差。。现在该怎么复习英语呢？ 哎，四级刚刚过，六级考了一次三百八十来分，对于英语，我真的无语了…… 考研的路上就英语就能拖累死…… 有什么好的办法短时间提高英语的应试能力吗？ 案例二： 我英语现在四级还没有过，考研的单词我已经背了三分之二。可一看文章我还是什么都不会。而且感觉很吃力。希望那个有识之士给段指点。我是否该报一个基础的英语班。 案例三： 英语基础差考研应该怎么复习？比如：用什么参考书?分几步复习等等?有那位大大能给点建议？谢谢了！ 以上三个同学的情况，可能说到了大多数英语较差的痛处，为此，新东方考研为大家整理出了一些英语基础较差的同学复习考研英语的一些经验，希望能够帮助大家提高考研英语的成绩，顺利考上研究生。 考研英语复习经验分享一：找到最适合自己的学习方法 最近总看见学弟学妹们在论坛里高呼，我的英语基础不好怎么办，怎么才能达到复习效果。整天在那儿求助怎么复习，却不能付诸于行动，要么是没有自信心和毅力要么就是没有找到适合自己学习的一套方法。我不是在此批评大家，我也想给大家最中肯的建议，如果觉得我说的没用，您可以忽略。 我是12年的考生，我的英语基础也不好，不知道大家是怎么衡量自己的英语水平的，我想我可能是很差的那种吧，英语四级裸考425分，六级复习了但还是未果。大三决定要考研时的我很迷茫，不知道怎么去复习也不知道怎样去选择参考书，我考的传播学，是不考数学的，大学本专业也是新闻，专业课相对来说没多大的问题，主要就是放在政治和英语的复习上。

从四月中旬我开始背的单词，当时背的是星火。英语单词几乎是天天要背的，所以最好是给自己一个计划，多少天背完一遍，每天应该背多少个，什么时候背应该规划清楚，这样防止自己偷懒而有计划的实施。背单词的过程中，不但要大量快速地背，还要针对一定数量的单词量进行反复记忆，中间间隔的时间不宜过长，两至三个小时为妙。然后，每隔几天后再把此前背过的单词复习一遍，如此循环下去，你的任务量会越来越轻，自信也会相应提高。至于什么时候背，我补充下，这个因人而异吧，只要你想要学习，随时随地都可以将零散的那部分时间利用起来。我用的就是卡片记忆法，可以充分利用零散时间背单词，就把白纸裁成名片大小的纸片，一面写满词汇，另一面写满与词汇编码对应的意思。卡片的好处就是可以随身携带，当我们拿出卡片看到单词要在头脑里反应出其意思，看到意思要能反应出单词拼写、词性及相关意思的单词，这个方法还是师兄告诉我的，个人觉得很用的。 在复习词汇时特别要注意熟词生义的情况，熟词生义指那些我们以前学习过的熟词，这类词的某些意思我们已经掌握，但在考研词汇大纲中，它们又有一些新的意义，如book,“预定”：change,“找头”；second,“赞成，附和；school,“学派“等等。对于这些新的意义，我们一定要高度重视，因为这些是命题人最偏爱的考点。考研英语词汇中有很多音形义相近的情况，如果不仔细辨析，往往会造成混淆。如:respectablea.值得尊敬的，有好名声的；respectful,a.尊敬他人的，恭敬的；Respectivea.单个的，分别的，就是一级形义近易混词。本人和研友总结的经验认为，一味孤立地背记某个词的词义是远远不够的，只有经常进行音、形、义近词辨析的工作，才能更准确更牢固地掌握每个词的意思。英语中绝大部分词都是由词根加前缀或后缀组成的，我们要掌握词根背单词。还有就是区分单词的本义、比喻义和引申义背单词。区分单词的各种意义、找到这些不同意义之间的联系是很容易一次将全部意义整体记住的。如divert本义是“转向”、“使转移”，引申为“娱乐”、“使消溃”。 前事不忘，后事之师。单词要反复记忆，一定要注意延续性，但别忘了学习方法需要因人而异量身裁衣。 七月初我开始做的阅读，用的是胡敏的200篇，个人觉得难度和取材比较还趋近真题。我没有去做模拟题，我觉得这个比较浪费财力和精力，当然最好的阅读就是真题，真题要多做，适当的可以买本阅读练习，精读下里面的文章对完形和作文都是很有帮助的。当然最头疼的莫过于长难句了，基本占到阅读文章的一半，而翻译考的基本就是长难句找出成分正确组合以及某些单词的适宜的中文表达。所以语法、长难句这大难关一定要挺过。 其实所有的学习，包括词汇，阅读，真题，作文都是融会贯通的。就如同记单词，最好不要脱离语境，在阅读里记忆效果最佳，脱离了语境的词汇变成了完全抽象的符号，当然难记了。记得一位老师说过"阅读的最高境界是再现"，你研 究透了真题，可以很好的针对考研英语阅读上的解答。所以真题我做了6遍，我当是用的是《张剑的黄皮书》，觉得真题解析书大同小异，觉得里面的长难句

六级词汇分类

六级中表示优秀的： prominent 优秀的eminent 突出的，杰出的outstanding 杰出的 六级中考到的" 娱乐" entertainment娱乐enjoyment 自娱自乐amusement （女神缪斯）最正宗的娱乐 pastime 休闲，娱乐recreation (消遣，娱乐) leisure 悠闲，安逸 六级中表示拥护，支持者 sponsors 发起人contributors 捐助人vocal（声音上） advocates 一再地声援-->拥护者，支持者 六级关于二手房刮墙纸和粘墙纸 刮：scrape(也可形容摩天大厦) 粘墙纸：overlap一张一张地粘，在上面有所重叠 其他选项：collide with 运动物体的相撞 bump into运动物体向静止物体相撞 coincide with 时间、空间上都是一致的 表示复制，模仿 reproductive 复制，生殖系统的duplicate 复制，模仿 deliberately 不是随便想出来-->故意地，深思熟虑地去掉自由Intentionally 故意地dispatch/despatch=sent派遣，打发external外部的internal内部的 eternal 永恒的（常考）Eg:pledge one's eternal love.（发个永恒的誓言）纪念林肯的长明灯：eternal fire degrade 降级（常考） degraded 品味低俗的，低级 degraded taste ensure 确保，确定 assure 确信、确保 pulse 跳-->repulsive 厌恶的，恶心的＝nasty retch 干吐都吐不出来-->恶心-->wretch 我干吐都吐不出来->可怜，可爱，不幸consolidate(固体solid) 增强position/power enhance 增强valuable/attrach/reputation notion 观念，概念 notable n.著名a.显著的take notice of 注意 notify v.正式通知-->notification n. notorious （常考）a.臭名昭著 notoriously=very eg：you are notoriously beautiful.你十分漂亮。significant 重要的<-->trivial去他的--> 不重要的（重要不重要，考点） manifestation 用现象来证明 specification 详细说明，产品说明书

(新版)熟背星火英语30篇阅读文章贯穿

2005年版星火英语三十篇阅读贯穿考研词汇 u nit 1 ：The P ermit I t hink t he bu ilding mu st have been u sed as a f arm er's wint er stor e; I f ou nd piles of f or gott en dr ied chest nut s and gr ain in rott ing bar r els. I t r ied the chest nut s but t hey t ast ed sour and shar p, and som e of them ha d sm all t eeth-m arks in their dark, peeling skins. P au lo said he wou ld bring m e f ood, but that was thr ee days ago. Y est erday, I heard a car engine gett ing closer, and clim bed up t o hide in t he r aft ers of the pat ched roof, bu t t he Gu ar dia Civil m en j u st loo ked in qu ickly t hr ou gh the sm ashed windows and broken doors bef or e they left. I clung t o the dust y wooden raft er, f eeling it cr eak and bend under my weight, and tr ied t o make no noise. M y arm s and legs gr ew numb,then began t o tr emble,and I longed t o m ove, but I wait ed unt il I hear d the policem en dr ive off. I know that P au lo wou ld not have told them about m e. And I know that they will r etur n. When we began the f inal part of our jour ney, we wer e war ned t hat t he police patr ol the land around her e r egu lar ly. They ar e always sear ching for u s, or other s like u s; t he coast of Mor occo and the P r esidio of Ceut a ar e only t en m iles away acr oss the Str ait s. That is ho w I got her e: squ eezed in wit h f ift een ot her m en in a shallow boat m eant f or eight, with the cold waves r eaching over the sides and the night deep and black as a t omb. I have never been m or e scar ed.I pr ayed all t he way across, and thought about my f am ily. I told myself, over and over, that I was doing it for them. That tr ip t ook almost all of m y money. All of t he m oney I had saved back hom e in E cu ador, all of the money I had wor ked for on t he way. The boatm en left us on a beach in t he m iddle of t he night. We lost sight of t hem but we cou ld st ill hear t heir sm all engine acr oss t he waves. S ix of u s st art ed walking inland but the other s wait ed f or the cont act, the f r iends of t he boatm en, as t hey had been told, and m et the Gu ar dia C ivil inst ead. We wer e lu cky: we m et P au lo.We f ound the t own and wait ed u nt il the f irst bar opened; I went in alone while the other s hid in the or char d near by. When I asked f or cof f ee, the

10篇文章轻松搞定英语四级词汇

(1)A Question of Rights Unfortunately, a crime was about to be committed but at the moment Lesley was unaware of the impending(即将发生的,迫近的) event, which would affect her life so drastically(极端地,彻底地) for the next two years. For the moment at least, her holiday at the cottage had been ideal. She had spend many idle hours relaxing on the deck, reading, eating a sandwich when she was hungry and in the evening watching the sky turn from brilliant orange to peach and finally to pale purple, eventually the light becoming dim. It was about this time that the mist would begin to rise from the cool water hiding in the dense forest that hugged(环绕,拥抱) the shoreline. Late evening dew glistened on every bush and soon the loon?s(潜鸟) call would resound across the water. She decided to take one last dip in the lake. As the cool night air touched her arms, she gave a little shiver and decided in was time to move inside. This was to be her last evening alone as Jeff, her former mate, would be returning Zac to her early in the morning. As the case in many marriages these days, problems had arisen between Lesley and Jeff, but they did not extend to Zac. He was a good kid, just entering kindergarten. The couple had come to a mutual agreement, as dictated by the legal custody(保管,监管) agreement. It stated the each parent would share Zac?s care every second weekend and this had been her weekend to be alone. Jeff was an architect, which a high profile reputation, who worked in downtown Toronto, a partner in a private corporation wh ich mostly did consultant work for the university. Lesley?s company had been hired to advertise the new science complex in order to raise corporate money for the proposed building. She liked her work and she harbored a secret ambition to manager her division of the company some day. After a whirlwind courtship(求爱,热恋) and a fairytale wedding the couple had settled down to and urban lifestyle. However, after three years and one child the dreamlike marriage came smashing down. One disadvantage of being young and ambitious(有抱负的) was that both of them needed to devote untold hours to their busy schedules. As a result of these late hours, Lesley became suspicious of Jeff?s after hours activities. She accused him of make her part of a love triangle. The whole miserable scene was to set the proceeding for an ugly divorce in motion. Daydreaming about those earlier days would not help tonight. So with a shrug of her shoulders she tackled the advertising assignment she needed to complete. Tomorrow would be a busy day with Zac arriving home. The next day, as the morning wore on, Lesley became more and more agitated(烦燥), and her mood became apprehensive(忧虑的,不安的) when Jeff did not appear. When noon hours arrived and he still had not appeared, she started making some phone calls. None of their mutual friends had either seen or talked with Jeff that day. Until today, Jeff had always been very punctual about returning the boy at the appointed time. Lesley felt a knot forming in her stomach as a crazy thought persisted at the back of her mind. She was absolutely sure something was wrong. Jeff sat with his head bowed. He was undecided what to do. The domestic arrangement with his former wife was proving to be awkward. He was frustrated at being able to see his son only on weekends and felt he was always making concession to accommodate(适应,迁就) Lesley?s work schedule. Every meeting was turning into a competition for the boy?s affection. His one desire was to take Zac away for good. The enormous decision to undertake this plan appeared to be presenting itself. Today he would depart for a conference in California. This appeared to be marvelous opportunity to take the boy and leave the country for good. He bet that he could pack sufficient baggage into his vehicle and then disappear across the border, gaining entry the U.S.A He gave little thought to whatsoever of the fact this act could lead to his conviction if he was tracked down by the cops. Meanwhile, for Lesley the nightmare continued to unfold as the reality of the situation deepened. After 48 hours, the spokesman for the district polic e department assured her they would investigate Zac?s disappearance. Her faith that justice would be realized was faint. The shock of the past two days? events made her realize that possibly her

星火30篇文章贯通考研词汇文本

unit 1 The Permit I think the building must have been used as a farmer's winter store; I found piles of forgotten dried chestnuts and grain in rotting barrels. I tried the chestnuts but they tasted sour and sharp, and some of them had small teeth-marks in their dark, peeling skins. Paulo said he would bring me food, but that was three days ago. Yesterday, I heard a car engine getting closer, and climbed up to hide in the rafters of the patched roof, but the Guardia Civil men just looked in quickly through the smashed windows and broken doors before they left. I clung to the dusty wooden rafter, feeling it creak and bend under my weight, and tried to make no noise. My arms and legs grew numb, then began to tremble, and I longed to move, but I waited until I heard the policemen drive off. I know that Paulo would not have told them about me. And I know that they will return. When we began the final part of our journey, we were warned that the police patrol the land around here regularly. They are always searching for us, or others like us; the coast of Morocco and the Presidio of Ceuta are only ten miles away across the Straits. That is how I got here: squeezed in with fifteen other men in a shallow boat meant for eight, with the cold waves reaching over the sides and the night deep and black as a tomb. I have never been more scared. I prayed all the way across, and thought about my family. I told myself, over and over, that I was doing it for them. That trip took almost all of my money. All of the money I had saved back home in Ecuador, all of the money I had worked for on the way. The boatmen left us on a beach in the middle of the night. We lost sight of them but we could still hear their small engine across the waves. Six of us started walking inland but the others waited for the contact, the friends of the boatmen, as they had been told, and met the Guardia Civil instead. We were lucky: we met Paulo. We found the town and waited until the first bar opened; I went in alone while the others hid in the orchard nearby. When I asked for coffee, the young barman looked at me and

英语六级精选高级词汇和句型

以下是我为你搜集的三十组考试中可频繁使用的优美词汇及例句。考试时用上它们，以替代你现有的普通词汇，可以瞬间点亮平淡无奇的文章。 1、individuals,characters, folks替换(people ,persons) 2、positive, favorable, rosy (美好的)，promising (有希望的)，perfect, pleasurable , excellent, outstanding, superior替换good 3、dreadful, unfavorable, poor, adverse, ill (有害的)替换bad 如果bad做表语，可以有be less impressive替换 eg.An army of college students indulge themselves in playing games,enjoying romance with girls/boys or killing time passively in their dorms. When it approaches to graduation ,as a result, they find their academic records are less impressive. 4、(an army of, an ocean of, a sea of, a multitude of ,a host of, many, if not most)替换many. 注：用many, if not most 一定要小心，many后一定要有词。 Eg. Many individuals, if not most, harbor the idea that….同理用most, if not all ,替换most. 5、a slice of, quiet a few , several替换some 6、harbor the idea that, take the attitude that, hold the view that, it is widely shared that, it is universally acknowledged that)替think (因为是书面语，所以要加that) 7、affair ,business ,matter 替换thing 8、shared 代common 9、reap huge fruits 替换get many benefits ) 10、for my part ,from my own perspective 替换in my opinion 11、Increasing(ly),growing 替换more and more( 注意没有growingly这种形式。所以当修饰名词时用increasing/growing.修饰形容词，副词用increasingly. 关注：英语六级简答题的命题规律和对策 Eg.sth has gained growing popularity. Sth is increasingly popular with the advancement of sth. 12、little if anything, 或little or nothing替换hardly 13、beneficial, rewarding替换helpful, 14、shopper,client,consumer,purchaser, 替换customer

15篇文章贯通大学英语四级CET4词汇第11篇

15篇文章贯通大学英语四级CET4词汇第11篇 SkyWatch Todaythewindandraindrovefiercelyagainstmyapartmentwindow.Itwasthe tailendofatyphoon(台风).Everyyear,asthecalendarindicatestheapproachofautumn,thesedestruct ivetropical(热带的)stormsaccountforbothdeathanddestructionalongAsia’scoasts.Onanaver agetheremaybefifteensuchstormseveryyear.Althoughmanyciviliansadoptaca sualattitudetowardstheseevents,awarenessisadvisable. Asthewaterdrippedfrommybalconyandaccumulatedintofree-flowingriver sontheroadbeneath,Iwasremindedoftheextremeweatherthataffectedtheresid entsofNorthAmerica.Hurricanes(飓风),tornadoes(龙卷风),snowstorms,icestormsandelectricalstormsareallexamplesofextremewea therthatmaychallengeanentirecommunity.Eachstormisuniqueincharacter,co ntributingitsownparticularfascination(魔力)andfear. EveryfallhurricanesslamtheUnitedStatescoast.Theyupsetboats,fellma turetrees,washawaysectionsofpublicbeachesandoftencausedeath.Fortunate lywiththeadvantageofmodernpriorwarningsystemsauthoritiesareabletokeep thechaostoaminimum.Regardless,somesectorsofthepopulationstillignoreth ewarnings.Theburdenofrescuingtheseirresponsible(不负责的)adultsfallsontheauthorities.Meanwhilegovernmentbudgetsarestrained. Toassembleenoughaidtoassureassistanceforallregionsinacountrystretches finances. HurricanesseldomreachOntario,Canada,butinXXXXHurricaneHazelexpose dtheresidentsofTorontotoanawfulnightoffloodingandterror.Respondingtot hedisasterrequiredthesupremeeffortofalltherescuedepartments. InOntariowhereabrush(严酷的)winterextendsfromNovemberuntilApril,snowstormsareregularoccurrence .Peopleadjusttheirtravelplans,sportsactivitiesandespeciallytheirmodeo fdresswhentheweatherforecasterspredictaseveresnowstorm.Automobiledriv ersmustbemorecautiousunderthesecircumstances.Snowremovalbecomesamajor expensefornortherncities.Familiesadjusttheirweekendplansandstaytogeth erathome,sittingsafelyinfrontofablazing(炽烧

考研英语详细的备考攻略

考研英语详细的备考攻略 考研英语详细的备考攻略 ?概况篇 英语是全国统考的三门公共课之一。考试时间安排在第一天的下午，时长为3个小时，满分100分。 1.完形填空(10分)。共20个空，每空0.5分。这种题每年的平均分不是很高，在多数考生看来有些鸡肋，食之无味又弃之可惜。大多数辅导老师都会建议学生在考试的最后10—20分钟作答。 2.阅读理解(60分)。采用4+1+1的形式，阅读A部分有4篇文章(每篇文章400词左右)，每篇文章有5道题目，每题2分，共40分;阅读B部分有1篇文章，又叫新题型(500词左右)，有几种题型供选择，比如句子匹配题和段落匹配题以及小标题题型等。通俗的说新题型有点像长胖了的完型填空(也就是填词变成了填句子)，或者粉碎性骨折的完形填空(文章段落顺序完全打乱让你还原正确的段落顺序)。 阅读理解这50分无疑是你整个英语复习过程中的重中之重。好了，现在大家应该知道历届研友口中的“得阅读者得天下”是怎么来的了吧。 3.这里把阅读C部分(10分)单拿出来说，也是一篇文章，另一个名字是我们熟知的英译汉。这部分英语一和英语二稍有区别，英语一是句子翻译，把文章中的5处划线句子(150词左右吧)翻译成中文即可;英语二是段落翻译，要求把150词左右的一段或两段文章全部翻译。 这个题看似简单，其实在整个英语试卷中得分率很低，多年平均分都是3分上下。因为很多人在考场上写出来的中文基本都不是人话。

4.写作分为A部分和B部分，总分30分。其中A部分人称应用文或者小作文(约100词，满分10分)，书信形式居多;B部分人称大作文(200词上下，满分20分)英语一通常是图画作文，英语二通常是图表作文。 简单说明一下，在这4部分中，阅读理解的A部分和B部分再加上写作部分一共占了80分，绝对是复习的重点。完形填空和翻译占20分，可以说是复习的难点。 ?资料篇 这是一个老生常谈的问题。大家都知道真题是极好的复习资料，但是真题毕竟有限，大家觉得做完了也就完了，没有可以用的了，是不是应该做点模拟题，比如某某阅读500篇之类。我的回答是，绝对不用! 第一，模拟题的质量参差不齐，做了反而对你有误导。再说，你随便从淘宝上一找，各种各样的参考书实在是太多。就阅读而言，各种《某某阅读100篇》《某某250篇》还都说是命题专家或者考研命题组成员命题，都说是最接近真题的模拟题(再怎么接近真题不还是模拟题么?那我们为什么不用真题呢?)用脚想一想也知道，是每年好几个专家在小黑屋里用半个月一个月的时间整出来的那几篇阅读质量高，还是某个老师再加几个编辑整出来的上百篇阅读质量高? 第二，真题不够用?多数小伙伴对待真题的态度就是做一遍甚至两遍，然后对对答案，查查不认识的单词就完事了，这样的方法，对真题的使用率不到百分之十。具体怎么用真题，我会在后面具体介绍。 2.用哪本资料 ?时间规划篇 相信小伙伴们都知道，英语是考研必考的三门公共课之一。其复习要贯穿备考的全过程，尤其是前期需要投入大量时间精力夯实基础。因此，对英语复习而言当然是开始得越早越好。我在这儿先简

星火英语15篇文章贯通四级词汇(完整版)A

A Question of Rights Unfortunately , a crime was about to be committed but at that moment Lesley was unaware of the impending(即将发生的,迫近的) event , which would affect her life so drastically(极端地,彻底地) for the next years . For the moment at least, her holiday at the cottage had been ideal. She had spent many idle hours relaxing on the deck , reading ,eating a sandwich when she was hungry and in the evening watching the sky turn from brilliant orange to peach and finally to pale purple , eventually the light becoming dim . It was about this time that the mist would begin to rise from the cool water hiding in the dense forest that hugged(环绕,拥抱) the shoreline(海岸线). Late evening dew(露水) glistened(闪耀,反光) on every bush and soon the loons' (潜鸟) call would resound (回响) across the water . She decided to take on last dip in the lake. As the cool night air touched her arms. She gave a little shiver and decided it was time to move inside. This was to be her last evening alone as Jeff, her former mate,would be returning Zac to her early in the morning. As the case in many marriages these days, problems had arisen between Lesley and Jeff, but they did not extend to Zac. He was a good kid, just entering kindergarten. The couple had come to a mutual agreement, as dictated by the legal custody(监管,保管) agreement.It stated that each parent would share Zac's care every second weekend and this had been her weekend to be alone. Jeff was an architect, with a high-profile reputation, who worked in downtown Toronto, a partner in a private corporation which mostly did consultant work for the university. Lesley’s company had been hired to advertise the new science complex in order to raise corporate(公司的) money for the proposed building. She liked her work and she harbored a secret ambition to manage her division of the company some day. After a whirlwind(旋风般的) courtship(求爱,热恋) and a fairytale wedding the couple had settled down to an urban lifestyle. However, after three years and one child the dreamlike marriage came smashing down. One disadvantage(不利条件) of being young and ambitious(有抱负的) was that both of them needed to devote untold hours to their busy schedules. As a result of these late hours, Lesley became suspicious(猜疑的) of Jeff’s after hours activities. She accused him of making her part of a love triangle. The whole miserable scene was to set the proceedings(过程,诉讼,诉讼程序) for an ugly(不愉快的) divorce in motion. Daydreaming(幻想,白日梦) about those earlier days would not help tonight. So with a shrug of her shoulders she tackled the advertising assignment she needed to complete. Tomorrow would be a busy day with Zac arriving home. The next day, as the morning wore on, Lesley became more and more agitated(烦躁), and her mood became apprehensive(忧虑的,不安的), when Jeff did not appear. When